‘American Idol’ Pays Tribute to Taylor Swift. They Meant Well

By Rob Sheffield

Rob Sheffield

This was a historic night on American Idol: the show’s first-ever Taylor Swift Night. Contestants have attempted her tunes before, but Idol had never set aside a night to showcase her songbook, which might seem like a surprise. “We’re making history tonight, with our musical celebration of the icon Taylor Swift!” Ryan Seacrest announced at the beginning. “Get ready to shake it off live!”

For the role of guest judge, they got one of the funniest Swifties around: comedy queen Nikki Glaser, who sashayed onstage singing along to “Opalite.” “I went to 22 Eras Tour concerts,” she announced. “I don’t have a family and I had the money!” Her goal for the evening: “I’m looking to feel something.” 

But it wasn’t that kind of night. Idol just didn’t really seem up to the occasion. The contestants struggled mighty hard with the songs. Taylor did not show up, which was a shrewd move. (She’s appeared on The Voice twice, but never Idol.) A gaggle of her Eras dancers were in the house, according to Glaser’s social media, but not so’s you could spot them onscreen. The whole night was obviously scripted as a big event, yet never quite got started. This celebration could have been an email. 

Seacrest promised, “We’ve got a show tonight that’s out of every Swiftie’s wildest dreams!”  But bizarrely, they ran out of Swift songs halfway through, and with no warning, abandoned the Taylor theme without a fare-thee-well, not even a goodbye in a getaway car. The second half of Taylor Swift Night became a tribute to the state of California, sponsored by the state’s tourism bureau. (Not even the Taylor songs about California!) It was a little weird. 

Chances are that like many of your fellow citizens, you might have slacked off in your duty to keep up with American Idol in recent years. So here’s a cheat sheet: The judges are Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood, and Luke Bryan. Their directive is 100 percent positivity — pure Paula Abdul energy, without a grain of Simon salt in any of their shakers. (Carrie learned her lesson earlier this season when she got booed for dishing out some tough love.) They don’t do coaching or pro tips, just a dazed stream of “amazing” and “I love you” and “I love how amazing it is to love you.” It’s like Project Hail Mary if the only human language Rocky learned was “words of encouragement.”

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It was bizarre to see Nikki Glaser, an expert cutthroat artist who hosts the Golden Globes, thrown into the deep end of the positivity pool. “I’m used to roasting,” she confessed to Seacrest. “I turned that part of my brain off tonight.” When Glaser told contestant Braden Rumfelt that his version of “Cardigan” was “in the pocket” he replied, “Like Tom Brady?” It seemed like a clever reference to Nikki’s career-making shade at Brady’s Comedy Central Roast in 2024, where she stole the show. (“It’s hard to walk away from something that isn’t your pregnant girlfriend!”)

But for most of the night, Glaser seemed to be the only person in the room who knew any of these songs. Seacrest eventually came out in his Folklore cardigan, declaring, “I am a Swiftie!” But the human element came from seeing the singers’ total disconnection from the material. Nobody did any testimonials where they walk in the sunset and muse about what the songs mean to them. Only one of the singers revealed listening to Swift on their own time — Chris Tungseth, a lovably hirsute country boy in the Bo Bice/Sundance Head mode. Back in his high-school football days, as a middle linebacker, he used to hype up before games by blasting “Blank Space” in the locker room. 

Brooks Rooser sang “Love Story,” for his fellow contestant Rae Boyd — they just revealed last week that they’re a couple. But America, you are one cold and cruel little nation. I mean, Idol gives you a real-life love story? He sings her the Romeo/Juliet song? And you respond by immediately voting him off the show? Heartless! (Rae got cut a couple weeks ago for singing “MacArthur Park,” so insert your own cake/rain metaphor here.) Hold on tight, you two. People throw rocks at things that shine, and life makes love look hard.

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The show was a tribute to Swift’s strength as a singer — her timing, her guile, her intricacy — and watching these talented amateurs attempt her catalog just showed how tricky her melodies are. The singers weren’t well-prepared, to say the least. A few were gasping for breath, like Jordan McCullough in “Tim McGraw” or Daniel Stallworth in “Fearless.” Hannah Harper busted out her bluegrass banjo for “Mean,” astutely meeting the song on its own terms. Chris, the “Blank Space” bro, tackled “Exile,” or as Seacrest calls it, “the Grammy-nominated indie-folk ballad ‘Exile.’” But it was comically poignant to see the judges struggle to keep cranking out the nonstop glaze. After Keyla Robinson fumbled “Lover,” missing note after note, Underwood bravely praised “your melodic choices,” which was one way to put it. “I don’t even recognize that song!” Glaser raved, meaning it as a compliment. “You brought something new to it I couldn’t even imagine could be brought to it!”

Glaser, no doubt like many viewers, seemed a little baffled when the Swift songs dried up, and Idol had to pad out the rest of the episode with songs themed around California. Brooks serenaded his lady with a Maroon 5 oldie, explaining, “I’m in love, Ryan!” Braden sang another Maroon 5 hit, explaining, “This song is my chance to just have fun.” Dude, you’re 23 and your idea of fun is Maroon 5? Demand a little more out of life. 

It turned into one of those grim Idol nights where everyone seems to give up trying, until you wonder “Jeez, what’s next, somebody gonna sing ‘I Can’t Make You Love Me’ again?’” Tonight it was poor Jordan’s turn. “I don’t care what you sing,” Carrie Underwood told him. “Every time you open your mouth I hear the Holy Spirit,” a simply bonkers thing to say to a young man who’s just sung a Bonnie Raitt ballad about depressive middle-aged alcoholics banging in a brain-dead stupor. (He probably has the best voice this season, but he had a much easier time when he did Queen’s “Somebody To Love.”)

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